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Member Spotlight – Earth Essentials Soap

Barbara Downey wanted to learn to do something that would create greater self-sufficiency in her life. She had been buying hand-milled soap at local stores and fell in love with good soap. Since she had a love for cooking and appreciated following a good recipe, cold process soapmaking seemed like a natural choice. After much learning and soapmaking, Barbara launched her company, Earth Essentials Soap www.earthessentialssoap.com in 2004.

She had recently joined the Medina (Ohio) Women in Business group and had a successful career in sales, which laid the groundwork to begin selling her soaps. Her greatest pleasure has come from producing a quality product with quality ingredients and teaching others about its skin-nourishing ingredients. Earth Essentials Soaps offers a variety of soaps, including bath, hand, shampoo bars, and pet soap. Her oatmeal honey goat’s milk soap is one of her best sellers.

Barbara luckily found the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild on the Internet. She ordered a free copy of the Soapmaker Journal and then joined the Guild. She emphasizes the benefit of being a part of the HSMG. Currently she volunteering for Programs and Services Committee collecting recipes for the HSMG reference library. If you have recipes to share, please email them to mrsmagnet@roadrunner.com .

If you are thinking about starting your own soapmaking, Barbara suggests to do some research about the types of soap you like and how they are crafted. When you begin creating, be accurate.

Besides making her wonderful soaps, Barbara enjoys making jewelry (also for sale), tennis, travel, and reading non-fiction. She also has a keen interest in holistic health issues.